Descripción del Fideicomiso

The knowledge of the different types of HWCs might only give elusive ideas of solutions, but the knowledge of the causes of HWCs is arguably critical to the finding of relevant solutions to such conflicts. Along the same line of reasoning, the residents of Victoria Falls were probed for the perceived root causes of HWCs that humper tourism development in their areas. The research findings reveal that human population and urbanisation (17.6%) is the most widely known cause of HWCs (see Table 5.14). Climatic changes (16.5%), animal population growth (15.7%), and wild animal predation on livestock and human beings (15.5%) also represent some of the major causes of HWCS. Wild animal crop raiding (14.3%), bush fires (8.4%), human attitudes and perception (4.7%), infrastructural development (4.5%), and colonial rule (2.4%) have also been seen as part of a trend causing the HWCs that occur in Victoria Falls. Such results conform to a number of theoretical claims.

As shown in Table 5.13 below, human population growth and urbanisation (17.6%) was perceived to be the most well-known cause of HWCs that impede smooth tourism development in Victoria Falls. Indeed, human population growth in Victoria Falls has deepened for the past two decades, due to the perceived job opportunities that the town offers (ZTA, 2015). Human population growth has been accompanied by intensive settlement expansion towards the extreme edges of the nature reserves (FAO, 2009a). Urbanisation with population growth has reduced the extent of wild animal habitat in Victoria Falls (ZTA, 2009). The compression of a shared environment for wildlife and human species in Victoria Falls has resulted from the limited amount of space available for wildlife movement, due to increased population growth, urbanisation and settlement expansion having led to a change in

105

animal behaviour (Conyers, 2002). When the human population overlaps its carrying capacity through settlement expansions that might intrude on wildlife habitation, HWCs are likely to occur (Morzillo & Schwartz, 2011). Resultant conflicts between people and wildlife affect tourism for both people and wild animals are components of tourism development (Butler, 2000; Mhlanga, 2001).

The change in climate (16.5%) was indicated as being the second-most-common cause of HWCs (see Table 5.13 below). Long-term changes in climate exacerbate environmental degradation, leading to the loss of wildlife habitat in many vulnerable places (FAO, 2009b; Mudumba, 2011a). Additionally, climate change modifies the location and the nature of the geographical environment, and the existing wild will be involuntarily forced to move to new areas as a way of survival (Madden, 2004). In Victoria Falls, there is inadequate natural roaming spaces and places to which wildlife can move, which brings the wildlife into close contact with people especially in human areas where settlement is expanding thereby creating situations of human–wildlife antagonism (Dhlamini, 2016). Simultaneously, tourism activities in the environment are dependent on climatic patterns. When climate change results in the altering of animal movement and behaviour, its consequences are felt across several role players in tourism. When wildlife intrudes on human property, conservation makes no sense to a local resident, with neither the significance of wildlife in tourism, nor its role in job creation making sense. According to Adams (2004) and Nekaris et al. (2013), the angry communities concerned want only to get rid of the problematic wildlife as the solution, when the latter does not live up to expectation as a money-spinner, in shared communities.

The population growth among wild animals (15.7%) was perceived to be the third-most- common cause of HWCs in Victoria Falls (see Table 5.13 below). When the wildlife increase in population size, they have an increased need for habitat and food (Muruthi, 2005). Crop damage, due to the presence of an increased number of herbivores, is the greatest predominant form of HWCs across the Africa, and, in some semi-arid rural farming areas of Zimbabwe and Kenya, elephant destruction to food crops accounts for 75% to 90% of all destructions precipitated by big mammals (IFAW, 2011). When the programs for conservation succeed, and wildlife populations enlarge in statistics and coverage, many of the which also increase chance of HWCS, hence, resulting in the need to regulate management measures from a ‘preventing extinction’ level to one where the goal becomes “learning to live with success” (Gandiwa, 2012). However, unsuccessful conservation programmes in sub-

106

Saharan Africa are embedded in wildlife population growth issues, which have resulted in the development of migratory survival skills, with their routes undermining anthropological activities (Bhat et al., 2015). Tourism, as a sector, suffers when the wild animal population grows so much as to overlap the nature reserves and national parks in search of habitation. The resultant conflict of interest between wildlife need and humanistic interest brings wildlife management entities and host communities into opposition with each other, which usually results in resistance to tourism development among the locals (Johansson, 2010).

The fourth-most-common cause of HWCs in Victoria Falls, as shown in Table 5.13, was perceived to be wild animal predation on livestock and attacks on human beings (15.5%). Zimbabwe is one of the countries in Africa with a sizeable population of wild animals, with the ‘big five’ arguably wandering freely in the country’s national parks, causing damage to other environmental species (Sato, 2008). According to Goodrich (2010), possessing precise information regarding when and where the HWCs take place is crucial to managing the situation successfully. Such information could be used for the appropriate implementation measures, as well as leading to enhanced focus on the target areas and on the most relevant species within the areas (Peterson & Franks, 2005). In addition, monitoring and evaluation structures must be existing and they must be adapted to suit the local communities’ situations, with information gathering could be used to develop strategies which can lead to HWCs management. The authorities in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in particular, must use statistical precision to deal with such hazardous wild animals. Dealing with the wildlife in attempts to serve human interest have greatly revived tourism, as people tend to be cooperative if their security is guaranteed in their communities (Moscardo, 2005).

The fifth-most-common cause of HWCs was wild animal crop raiding (14.3%). From a historical perspective, crop raiding by wild animals is the most problematic cause of HWCs in the African context. Conservation efforts and tourism objectives can be potentially undermined when crop raiding in areas close to the PAs continues unchecked (Warner, 2008). Economic loss as a result of wildlife crop raids is a considerable threat to animal conservation, due to the resultant increased amount of resentment occurring among the residents that might result in retaliation (Vanherle, 2008).According to Yahner (2013), crop raiding by wildlife stifles the wildlife, local residents and conservationists’ interrelationships concerned. Despite a system possibly being extensively tainted with conflict, it is the duty of public-opinion-inspired policymakers to bring about change through the amelioration of

107

wildlife hazards in respect of human economic survival motives (WPC, 2014). Such change should pave the way to successful and sustainable tourism development in respect of conservation efforts.

The sixth-most commonly perceived cause of HWCs, bush fire, was yielded by 8.5% of the total number of respondents (see Table 5.13). In Zimbabwe, bush or veld fires are commonly agreed to threaten national economic recovery plans, as they destroy not only the pastures that are necessary for the restocking exercise, but they also destroy the wildlife habitat concerned (Nyamadzawo, Gwenzi, Kanda, Kundhlande & Masona, 2013). Apart from the forests that are consumed by bush fire, such sectors as tourism and agriculture are also affected by fire (Rosell & Llimona, 2012). In Zimbabwe, tourism thrives as wild animals are forced to migrate (Nyamadzawo et al., 2013). With the main cause of veld fires being a result of human activities, fire effects are multidimensional. Veld fires are viewed as a threat to the biophysical, socio-economic environment and humper wildlife food and habitation because of their trail of destruction, and because resulting impacts on the economy (Nyamadzawo et

al., 2013). The impact varies from loss of loss of life and reduced and eliminated sources of

economic activities and opportunities, through the psychosocial side-effects related to mortalities and family mourning, biodiversity losses, and the disturbance of the ecological system balance (Rodewald, 2002). Education and other means of environmental awareness must be encouraged to ensure the right attitude among people, who are the major culprits in their origin. The local residents should, above all, not be negligent in lighting fires in open spaces, as such fires can spread to destroy the ecosystem, which affects tourism in several ways.

The seventh-most commonly perceived cause of HWCs in Victoria Falls was attitude and perception (4.7%) (see Table 5.13). People’s perceptions of wildlife are significant, because in areas where HWCs occur, the solutions to the issue depend on the mindset of such host communities. When livelihoods do not take precedence, and societal expectations are ignored, primates may face elevated levels of rejection and persecution (Nekaris et al., 2013). In Zimbabwe, HWCs also occur when humans purposely hurt, exploit, or poach wild game, because of either supposed or real dangers to their belongings, lives, or family (Madden, 2004). Generally, PAs that exclude local community involvement have often created unfavourable relationships, attitudes and perceptions to develop between them and the local communities, which results in HWCs due to increased illegal hunting, habitat intrusion and

108

devastation, violence, and poverty among the local groups. In successful efforts to secure commitment from the host communities in the implementation and maintenance of conservation goals to prevent HWCs, tourism agency must spend much time probing questions of, and listening to, the local residents, building trusting affiliations, and supporting creative and positive identity-building activities in communities. This may create good local residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards tourism development, and good perceptions and attitudes are known to promote tourism development.

Infrastructural development (4.5%) was indicated to be the eighth-most-common cause of HWCs occurring in Victoria Falls (see Table 5.13). For the infrastructure to be ecologically acceptable, it should be developed alongside the evolvement of tourism goals (Keyser, 2009). The expansion of settlement and housing towards the wildlife Heartland sites in Victoria Falls has contributed to the proliferation of HWCs (ZTA, 2015). Many wild animals migrate both long and short distances to find mates, food, water, and other resources (ZTA, 2009). Infrastructural development, which is arguably largely designed to satisfy human economic zest, must be developed with wildlife welfare in mind. Conservation management and the local government authorities must integrate the units that are responsible for meeting basic human needs and infrastructure services with the environmental and social units that guide the locals’ actions (Venter et al., 2014). The above arguably embraces responsible tourism and sustainable development targets. Hence, successful integration must produce new opportunities and create collaborative synergies across traditional sectoral boundaries, so as to mitigate adverse impacts and maximise benefits for the overall environment (Towner, 1995; Peterson et al., 2013; Vanherle, 2008).

As shown in Table 5.13, the ninth-most commonly perceived cause of HWCs in Victoria Falls was perceived to be colonial rule (2.4%). The narrow emphasis that was placed on wildlife conservation in pre-colonisation and post-colonisation eras, in addition to having significant anthropologic consequences, was associated with a decrease in the size of wildlife populations, as the animals concerned were heavily suppressed by colonial rules (Ekdahl, 2012; Jones & Barnes, 2006; Madden, 2008). The legacy of colonisation that introduced policies to change the traditional course of HWC and conservation cannot be overlooked, despite some see the factor as being far-fetched in terms of causation. However, in Zimbabwe, such colonial and post-colonial policies were a force behind the legislative powers in relation to the creation of conservation sites (Gratwicke & Stapelkamp, 2006).

109

Colonialism has been replaced by traditional wildlife management systems with European models, in terms of which large tracks of land were taken for title as PAs (i.e. national parks and safari areas), thus, setting such destinations and the local residents at odds with each other (Butler, 2000). To make matters worse, the local communities were packed into restricted land bases and prohibited from utilising the resources within the PAs, leading to the growth of antagonism between the local communities and the wildlife (Barua et al., 2013). As the indigenous peoples want to control land and resources, the prevailing policy should grant them equal participation in decision-making, as well as control over their own development process, in the face of the emergent socio-political problems resulting from such forces in the external environment as perceived colonial policies (Aref, 2010). A cooperative community is likely to support tourism goals, especially if they are to reap benefits from the sector.

Table 5.13: The perceived root causes of HWCs in Victoria Falls (n=365, in %)

Perceived causes of HWCs Total (n=365, in %)

Human population growth and urbanisation 17.6

Climatic change 16.5

Wild animal population growth 15.7 Wild animal predation on livestock and human beings 15.5 Wild animal crop raiding 14.3

Bush fires 8.5

Attitudes and perception 4.7 Infrastructural development 4.5

Colonial rule 2.4

5.5 Local residents’ perceived impacts and the consequences of HWCs for tourism